with a thousand lies and a good disguise

As the world within the Velvet Room welcomes its third autumn, the usual seasonal decor begins to appear: pumpkin- and black cat-shaped lights on light poles, spooky-colored banners, glowing lanterns with jack-o'-lantern faces strung above narrow streets.

And, of course, in the couple of weeks leading up to Halloween, Jack-O'-Lantern Shadows themselves appear, bobbing cheerfully on street corners as they hand out flyers once again. This year, the flyer, if you can call it that, appears to be hand-written in deep blue ink on vellum, and it is an invitation.


ALL ARE INVITED
TO COMPETE IN THE VELVET ROOM'S
HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST

HELD OCTOBER 31, HALLOWEEN
MIDDAY
THE VELVET ROOM EVENT ROOM

JUDGED BY ELIZABETH, THEODORE,
MARGARET, LAVENZA, AND IGOR

THE WINNER WILL BE INCLUDED IN
CONSULTATIONS FOR THE DECOR AND EVENTS
OF THE HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION
TO TAKE PLACE THE NIGHT OF HALLOWEEN


So that's happening.

Additionally, as Halloween approaches, some residents might wake up and find yourself transformed in a way that will be familiar to those residents who were here a year ago. You might gain the features of an animal, monster, or creature of myth—fangs, scales, horns, tails, snouts, and so on. Or you might take on the form of such a being entirely. Perhaps even your mind will be transformed. Who can say?

Those who transformed last year might repeat the same transformation, experience a variation on the same theme, or get something entirely different. The transformations will probably reverse on November 1st, but Igor makes choices for reasons only he can understand: For whatever reason, you might keep your altered form for a longer or shorter period of time.

Those who are transformed are still welcome to compete in the costume contest, of course! Igor and his attendants look forward to seeing your creativity in action.


[ooc: Welcome to part one of our third(!) Halloween event. The monster transformations are the same as before, with leeway for your characters to transform back whenever you want.

The costume contest will work as follows: If you want your character to compete, but don't believe that they have a chance to win, you can just tag that they're competing. No extra action needed. If you consider that they've put effort into their costume, it looks good, and in your opinion they do deserve a chance to win (and you want to help plan the Halloween party), please let the mods know on Discord or via DM on October 28th, 18:00 UTC at the latest. The winner will be chosen at random from among those entrants who have a shot, and we will write the Halloween party post with input from the player whose character won the contest.]